After finally solving the riddle of the registration sphinx (geez that was harder than it should have been ), I have arrived.

The only other roguelike I've played before is nethack, where I ascended a character and horribly killed dozens more.

So, I created my first Angband character, a Human Warrior named 'War'. I chose the abbreviated name because I assumed I would die on the first floor in a matter of minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the game is actually quite forgiving at the beginning! (I also like how there aren't esoteric rituals to go through in order to get particular artifacts, like placing rusty swords at altars and praying etc. )

Little did I know that War would quickly hit clvl 20 (dlvl 16 or so). I still haven't managed to kill him yet! I've picked up some resistances here and there... I'm considering deep diving now, without taking much time to explore on each level. Is there anything glaring that I'm missing? Or, put another way, how deep in the dungeon would you feel comfortable going with this character?

(PS -- apologies in advance if I'm not supposed to puke chardumps into the forum posts)

Equipment-wise, the only thing you're missing to go down to 1500'+ is a source of Free Action. Without that, monsters will paralyze you, and paralysis is rarely survivable. I'd also rather have a crossbow or longbow than that sling, but it's not like you need to shoot enemies all that often right now. Just keep an eye out.

Inventory-wise, I'd want to get the following if I were you:
* More Phase Door. It's cheap and plentiful; I generally carry 15.
* More Word of Recall, so you aren't stranded by burnt scrolls. I generally buy up to 5 in the store, thus leaving 3 spares.
* Potions of Cure Critical Wounds. 60HP is decent healing (though you probably shouldn't chug them while in melee range), but more importantly they will, guaranteed, cure you of poison, stunning, confusion, and blindness. Buy as many as the stores stock, carry at least 10 with you, and stick the rest in the home for a rainy day.
* Staff of Teleport. Ideally you shouldn't need to use this much, but sometimes you just need to be somewhere else, and staves can be used while blinded and confused, unlike scrolls. They aren't guaranteed to always work though.

Later on there's more consumables to look out for (e.g. Teleport Level, Deep Descent) but that should be enough to get you started.

Welcome to Angband! And we're working on that difficulty so it's not so easy to start out.

Angband is very different from Nethack in the early game. It is *much* more forgiving, especially for warriors who can pretty much trounce everything in the early game. I feel this is by design, and a good way to distinguish between the games.

Angband's trick is that it'll lull you into complacency. There are a lot of nasty monsters as you descend. You may find yourself happily mauling everything you come into contact with, and then before you know it you are confronted with a tombstone screen. Especially if you haven't gotten used to bailing.

There also isn't anything hidden in the game. You can beat the game without any spoilers or guessing any bizarre actions.

Thanks to you both. I thought that the game might get harsher near the middle, which is why I stopped to ask for help before getting cocky and then subsequently killed

I will smut around the top 20 floors or so until I find something that gives me free action, and start stockpiling the consumables suggested!

Angband plays nicely with you until dlvl 40 - that's when it breaks out Kavlax (a truly nasty dragon unique that slows and randomly teleports you while dealing massive damage) and other unpleasant things to make you paranoid. It doesn't hurt that you've picked a Warrior, which is quite capable of dealing with early threats at the expense of being potentially quite unprepared for the danger of the midgame. If your Warrior gets killed I'd suggest a Paladin - they're probably the most newbie friendly class.

Things are still going admirably, although I've come close to dying a few times now. Without those recommendations of stockpiling Phase Door, WoR, and Cure Crit, I would surely have been stomped.

I recently picked up a leather shield of resistance (awesome!!) and an amulet of inertia. The amulet gives free action but also give me -1 to speed, which I'm just going to ignore for now. The shield was hard-won against a unique orc who, I think, is the first enemy I've fought who was significantly faster than me. He was landing 8-10 hits in between each of my turns, so I had to phase and chug potions a few times before ending him.

I'm at clvl 25 and dlvl 20 right now... I might try to find my way to dungeon level 30 now, to start scavenging for stat boost potions.

Question -- is there any way to restore "injured" statistics ("you feel sickly..." etc) other than eating a mushroom of vigor / leveling up? If I have a penalty to constitution when I level up, does it affect the max level of HP I'll be able to attain?

There are a few rare effects that can restore stats (chiefly the prayer Restoration and potions of Life). Additionally, there are potions that permanently increase your stats, and they will restore those stats as well (in addition to the boost).

Your max HP is recalculated whenever your CON or level changes, so you don't lose out on hitpoints by being drained when your levelup occurs.

Congrats on beating Azog; he can be a tough nut to crack. (Unless you killed his son Bolg instead, who is also a fast orc unique, but with considerably fewer hitpoints).

Things are still going admirably, although I've come close to dying a few times now. Without those recommendations of stockpiling Phase Door, WoR, and Cure Crit, I would surely have been stomped.

I recently picked up a leather shield of resistance (awesome!!) and an amulet of inertia. The amulet gives free action but also give me -1 to speed, which I'm just going to ignore for now. The shield was hard-won against a unique orc who, I think, is the first enemy I've fought who was significantly faster than me. He was landing 8-10 hits in between each of my turns, so I had to phase and chug potions a few times before ending him.

I'm at clvl 25 and dlvl 20 right now... I might try to find my way to dungeon level 30 now, to start scavenging for stat boost potions.

Question -- is there any way to restore "injured" statistics ("you feel sickly..." etc) other than eating a mushroom of vigor / leveling up? If I have a penalty to constitution when I level up, does it affect the max level of HP I'll be able to attain?

Thanks!

Just watch out, -1 speed is a bigger deal than one might think. A double move from an enemy at an unfortunate time could be a killer. It also disallows you from running from a normal speed enemy without getting hit. I would keep my eyes open for a replacement source of Free Action.

I think the only ways to restore your stats now are leveling up, Mushrooms of Vigor and stat potions. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, having a con penalty while leveling up doesn't affect your max HP. The amount of HP gained on level up is based on your hit dice which solely depends on your race and class. The HP bonus from CON is then added as a fixed amount depending on CON and clvl.